AstraZeneca's Dosage Error Casts a Cloud of Doubt around Entire COVID-19 Clinical Trial
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Runaway1956:
AstraZeneca's dosage error casts a cloud of doubt around the entire COVID-19 clinical trial:
Experts say the relatively small number of people in the low dose group makes it difficult to know if the effectiveness seen in the group is real or a statistical quirk.
AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Wednesday acknowledged a manufacturing error that is raising questions about preliminary results of their experimental vaccine.
A statement describing the error came days after the company and the university described the shots as "highly effective" and made no mention of why some study participants didn't receive as much vaccine in the first of two shots as expected.
In a surprise, the group of volunteers that got a lower dose seemed to be much better protected than the volunteers who got two full doses. In the low-dose group, AstraZeneca said, the vaccine appeared to be 90 percent effective. In the group that got two full doses, the vaccine appeared to be 62 percent effective. Combined, the drugmakers said the vaccine appeared to be 70 percent effective. But the way in which the results were arrived at and reported by the companies has led to pointed questions from experts.
The partial results announced Monday are from large ongoing studies in the UK and Brazil designed to determine the optimal dose of vaccine, as well as examine safety and effectiveness. Multiple combinations and doses were tried in the volunteers. They were compared to others who were given a meningitis vaccine or a saline shot.
Related:
After Admitting Mistake, AstraZeneca Faces Difficult Questions About Its Vaccine
Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine 'dose error' explained
AstraZeneca's dosage error casts a cloud of doubt around the entire COVID-19 clinical trial
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